Attorneys in court Wednesday agreed on one thing: On Jan. 1, 2013, former Boulder officer Sam Carter -- while on duty and in uniform -- shot and killed an elk on Mapleton Hill.

But as attorneys laid out, the question is whether it was a plot to kill a beloved trophy elk and cover it up or an officer euthanizing an aggressive and injured animal.

A Boulder County jury will spend the next two weeks hearing evidence for both arguments after attorneys made their opening statements in the case Wednesday in Boulder District Court.

Deputy District Attorney Fred Johnson said Carter developed a "fascination" with the elk and had a plan to use his position as a police officer to get away with killing it and claiming it as a trophy.

Defense attorney Marc Colin questions potential jurors during jury selection Wednesday for the case of former Boulder police officer Sam Carter in the shooting of a trophy elk on Mapleton Hill. (MARK LEFFINGWELL)

"That night, Sam Carter had an illegal and selfish plan in mind," Johnson said. "He was aware a bull elk had been up in that neighborhood. He was going to go up there and use his uniform and badge to poach it and take it as a trophy."

Johnson said prosecutors would present evidence that Carter turned off his GPS and failed to radio dispatchers that he was going to put down the elk. He then called up another police officer, Brent Curnow -- who is scheduled to testify as a witness in Carter's trial -- to come pick up the body as he forged roadkill tags for the elk.

"During this trial, you are going to hear evidence of awful poaching crimes, crimes people without a badge would never dream of getting away with," Johnson said. "You're going to see just how grossly this deviates from normal police behavior. He did every single thing to avoid anyone knowing, and it almost worked."

But Carter's attorney, Marc Colin, said Carter was putting down an elk that was injured and aggressive.

"Sam Carter is not guilty of anything but trying to protect citizens of Boulder from a nuisance elk," Colin said. "This case is based on a rush to judgment, and inaccurate media reports of a 'murder mystery.'"

Colin said the elk known to some as "Big Boy" had been "domesticated" and that there were previous reports of the elk getting into confrontations with dogs, concerns from residents that the elk was a traffic hazard, and even a mailman who reported being cornered by the elk.

Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett questions potential jurors during jury selection for the case of former Boulder police officer Sam Carter in the shooting of a trophy elk on Mapleton Hill during jury selection , Colorado May 28, 2014. (MARK LEFFINGWELL)

"The consequences of imprinting or domesticating a wild elk is that the elk relies on humans for food sources and begins to treat the yards of humans as its territory," said Colin, who added that a domesticated elk could be more dangerous than a mountain lion or a bear. "It no longer behaves like an elk; it doesn't know how."

But Johnson said neighbors in the area reported seeing the elk that day and said it was not injured or aggressive. He pointed to a text Carter sent Curnow before his shift even started, saying, "He's gonna die."

"He's already made his decision," Johnson said.

Carter, 37, is facing one count of attempting to influence a public official, a Class 4 felony; one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony; and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, a Class 6 felony.

Carter also is facing misdemeanor counts of first-degree official misconduct, illegal possession of a trophy elk with a Samson Law surcharge, conspiracy to commit illegal possession of wildlife, unlawfully taking of a big game animal out of season and unlawful use of an electronic communication device to unlawfully take wildlife.

If convicted on the Class 4 felony charge, Carter could be facing two to six years in prison.

One of the first witnesses on the stand was Colorado Parks and Wildlife field veterinarian Lisa Wolf, who said she had never heard of an animal being put down because it was too "domesticated," and said she saw no evidence of injury in the photos and videos taken of the elk before it was shot.

The last person to testify Wednesday was Boulder police Sgt. Kristi Peterson, who occasionally served as a supervisor for Carter and Curnow.

She testified that on occasion she saw the "gorgeous" elk, and when Curnow and Carter made comments about putting the elk down, she ordered them not to.

"I told them to leave the elk alone," she said. "It wasn't doing anything, and if it's not injured or it is still mobile, we leave it alone.

Brent Curnow
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BOULDER COUNTY SHERIFF
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Defense attorney Carrie Slinkard asked if it was "appropriate" for her to give such an order, and Peterson said that as their watch supervisor it was.

"If I tell someone not to do something, I would expect them not to do it," Peterson said.

The judge adjourned the trial for the day after Peterson finished her testimony.

The trial is expected to last about eight days.

During voir dire, Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett -- who is prosecuting the case himself along with Johnson -- repeatedly asked the potential jurors if they could use "common sense" during the trial, and if they could separate rumors they may have heard about the case from evidence.

"This is Boulder; there are rumors about everything," Garnett said. "The truth is what (prosecutor) Fred (Johnson) and I can establish here in this courtroom."

Garnett also asked the potential jurors whether they felt laws protecting wildlife were necessary and if they felt police officers should be held to the same standard as others when it came to the law.

"Do you care about the outdoors? Do you care about wildlife? Can you be fair to both sides?" asked Garnett. "Do you think the law should apply equally to law enforcement officers?"

Colin asked the potential jurors how they felt about animals being euthanized for being "aggressive."

Colin also asked the potential jurors if they had ever seen the elk or had read the extensive media coverage of the elk's death. Several jurors said they had read media coverage of the incident and had preconceived notions about the case, and some even said they had interacted with the elk and felt that would make them biased.

"I have to admit, I'm really struggling about if I can be impartial," said one potential juror, who was ultimately not selected.

Curnow has already pleaded guilty to one felony charge and all four misdemeanors in his case and was sentenced to one year of probation and 60 days of house arrest in September.

Curnow also received a two-year deferred sentence for the felony charge, tampering with evidence.

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